Every once in a long while the history of the beloved and storied Porsche automobile has been eloquently captured in the pages of large coffee table books, posters, and calendars. On Friday March 4th Motorbooks Inc. released one of the most impressive historical perspectives and richest pictorials of Porsche in the book, Porsche: A History of Excellence. This newly Spotted book is authored by RandyLeffingwell, the best-selling Motorbooks author and extraordinary photographer, who has earned a reputation as one of the most diligent and renown Porsche authorities today. Randy dedicates the book to Porsche spokesman Bob Carlson, praising him as both a friend and “a colleague whom I deeply respect. He has supported encouraged, and aided my book efforts immeasurably for two decades,” according to Leffingwell. According to the release information we received, this book was important to publish because no other sports car has had a run like Porsche’s on the street or on the world’s racetracks. The Spotted 9s team’s experience with the book has been extremely enlightening as we go about the important work of chronicling and identifying vehicles we spot across the digital landscape, and throughout the towns, cities and countries around the world. Chapter one, as an example, delivers a joyfully biased overview of the Volkswagen roots of the Porsche origin. While chapters two through six are dedicated to the rich Porsche automotive racing heritage.

The book is broken down in chronological order, with each chapter teaching us something new about critical milestones leading up to today’s grand Porsche legacy. Chapter seven highlights takes the reader from 1970 to 1976 as the journey of the next generation began, which included the mid-engine mounted 914 Roadster. With twenty full-length chapters of Porsche history in text and photographs, this richly illustrated volume released on March 4th, 2011, tells a very complete story of the fabled Porsche marque. The renowned automotive writer, photographer and Porsche aficionado Leffingwell focuses his lens on each important model from the first 356 to today’s Cayman and 911. His pictures, in-depth analyses of each car, and interviews with key personnel all serve to comprise a comprehensive, compelling and often revealing history of the world’s premier name in sports cars. The book retails for $30 and is also available on Amazon.com.